As part of its Italy4Innovation series, the Embassy of Italy in London hosted the Final Demo Day of the Global Start-Up Programme on 7 October. The aim of the programme, run by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the Italian Trade Agency, is to support the growth and internationalisation of innovative Italian start-ups and SMEs. Over 100 innovative Italian start-ups in various countries have benefited from the initiative so far, taking part in acceleration programmes that expose young Italian innovators to cutting-edge innovation ecosystems, with the aim of facilitating training, collaboration and joint initiatives. In London the Global Start-Up Programme was launched this year at the embassy’s Italy4Innovation event on 16 July, coinciding with Unbound, an international festival celebrating innovation.
Over the past three months, innovative start-ups participating in the programme have been trained and integrated into the UK business system. A central part of the project was the acceleration course offered by two local incubators, TechitaliaLab and Startupbootcamp. On the Final Demo Day the 23 start-ups presented their projects to an audience of London-based venture investors, with the aim of raising seed capital and scaling up. The nature of the selected start-ups and the sectors in which they operate are testament to the dynamism of Italy’s micro-entrepreneurial fabric and the quality of its talent pool in leading cutting-edge technological sectors such as e-commerce, cyber security, fintech, automotive.
